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A long-ago girlfriend of Steven Tyler's is taking issue with the way she's portrayed in the Aerosmith screamer's much-hyped new memoir, "Does the Noise In My Head Bother You?". In a 5,000-word narrative for the pro-life web site LifeNews.com, Julia Holcomb says Tyler's "gross exaggeration" of their relationship is "puzzling" and she resents the way the "American Idol" judge talks about her "as a sex object without any human dignity." And that's just for starters. Holcomb, who's referred to in the book as "Little Bo Peep," reveals that she was just 16 when she met Tyler at a concert in Portland, Ore. in 1973, and within a year she was pregnant with his baby. She writes that her mother signed over guardianship to Tyler, and she and the flamboyant frontman planned to marry and start a family. But when Holcomb was five months pregnant, she was hospitalized with severe smoke inhalation as a result of a fire in her Boston apartment. She claims that Tyler pressured her to have an abortion, which she calls "a horrible nightmare I will never forget." Tyler could not be reached for comment today. He doesn't write about any of this in the book, focusing instead on the couple's habit of having sex in public, something Holcomb denies. (Not exactly a stickler for detail, Tyler actually misspells Holcomb's name in the acknowledgements of his book.) Today, Holcomb and her husband of 30 years are the parents of seven children. "I have made a point over these long years never to speak of (Tyler), yet he has repeatedly humiliated me in print with distortions of our time together," she writes. "I do not understand why he has done this. It has been very painful." But profitable, too. Tyler's book is currently No. 2 on the New York Times Best Seller list, having sold 107,000 copies in hardcover since it was released May 3, according to Nielsen BookScan. If you're wondering, that's a lot. By comparison, Sammy Hargar's new tell-all "Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock" has sold 54,000 copies and Patti Smith's National Book Award-winning memoir, "Just Kids," has moved 188,000 hardcover copies. Still, Tyler's got a ways to go to catch Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, whose book, "Life," has sold 543,000 copies in hardcover and 26,000 in paperback.

About this blog

Mark Shanahan joined The Boston Globe in
2003, having worked previously at the Portland Press Herald, where he
covered City Hall, and the Lewiston Sun-Journal, where he was the
education reporter. A Northampton native and graduate of Bates College,
Shanahan enjoys the usual - books, music, movies, etc. - as well as the
unusual. shanahan@globe.com
Follow on Twitter: @GlobeNames, @MarkAShanahan

Meredith Goldstein has worked for the Globe since 2003, covering
everything from nightlife to New Kids. She keeps her eyes peeled for
celebrity juice, and also writes Love Letters, a Boston.com blog for
hopeful (and hopeless) romantics. Meredith chats about love problems
every Wednesday at 1 p.m. If you see Justin Timberlake or someone like
him at a local eatery, please e-mail her immediately. mgoldstein@globe.com
Follow on Twitter: @GlobeNames, @MeredithGoldste